Rwanda, Congo and UNHCR meet over refugees

KIGALI- Refugee experts from Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and delegates from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), yesterday, met in Kigali to discuss how Rwandan refugees in Congo can be repatriated. The meeting follows a sensitization campaign held in Congo-Brazzaville last month where a tripartite delegation of Rwandan officials, UNHCR and Congolese authorities met over 400 refugees in Kintere camp and urged them to return home. It’s estimated that over 1,789 Rwandan refugees reside in refugee camps in various parts of Congo Brazzaville. The Minister for Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, Gen.Marcel Gatsinzi, said that the meeting will come up with mechanisms of how the refugees will be repatriated. “Experts are discussing ways of repatriating the refugees and how they can be provided with travel documents,” he said. He added that the same meetings will be held in other countries harbouring Rwandan refugees. Col. Pierre Mongo, who headed the Congolese delegation, asserted that the country is ready to disseminate information to refugees and sensitize them on why they need to return home. “The number of refugees returning from Congo has reduced compared to 1994, and it’s due to lack of information about the current situation in Rwanda. Therefore, we are ready to sensitize them so that those who want will return,” he told the media. Cristina Planas, UNHCR deputy representative in charge of protection, pledged more support to the returning refugees to ensure that they lead better lives. “We are committed to providing more financial and material support to all refugees who return from exile,” she disclosed to The Sunday Times in an exclusive interview. UNHCR provides household materials and $100 to every adult and $50 to children who are repatriated as well as air tickets to refugees who return by air. The Rwandan government and UNHCR agreed on a secession clause which states that nobody will be accorded refugee status after December 2011. UNHCR estimates that there are 73,000 refugees in different parts of the world and 3.5 million repatriated since 1994. Ends